Production sharing in Latin America and East Asia

In this paper we empirically examine the extent and properties of production sharing in Latin and North America as well as that in East Asia. In 2006, exports of parts and components from Latin and North America constituted 29.7% of the region’s exports of manufactured goods to the world. Both exports and imports of parts and components were declining shares of trade in manufactured goods or trade in all goods. A large amount of trade in parts and components in the region was with members of NAFTA, particularly the United States. Imports from East Asia and from China were increasingly important. There was a relatively thick production network of parts of motor vehicles in Latin and North America, followed by networks of parts of telecommunication equipment and electronic components. But the network was primarily within the United States, Mexico and Canada, with Brazil also playing a role. For East Asia, the motor vehicle parts network was not as significant, but the electronic components network was much wider and deeper.